Who Has Israel Adesanya Lost To? Alex Pereira, Dricus Du Plessis, and Other Losses

Former 2-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya hasn’t had the best run recently as he not only dropped his title but also failed to reclaim it in the following fight. However, those are not the only MMA losses ‘The Last Stylebender’ has suffered so far. With 24 victories under his belt, ‘Izzy’ is one of the biggest draws in the middleweight division, but he has his fair share of lackluster moments inside the Octagon as well.

Today, let’s take a look at the defeats that the Nigerian-born mixed martial artist had to face in the UFC, ahead of his headlining bout at UFC Saudi Arabia against Nassourdine Imavov. Without any further ado, let’s get right into it!

Israel Adesanya’s first MMA loss

Interstingly, Israel Adesanya never ate a loss before coming to the UFC because his first-ever loss in MMA came at the hands of Jan Blachowicz. The Polish star had just captured the vacant light heavyweight title after beating Dominick Reyes via knockout in the second round. The former champion Jon Jones had left the division to challenge for the heavyweight title, but Adesanya was looking to become a double champion.

This was indeed the perfect time for Adesanya to move up and join a list of the elite few who have been champions in two different weight classes. He capitalized on this opportunity, and the UFC set up the fight for UFC 259. This was Blachowicz’s first title defense, and he was an underdog going into the fight.

However, Adesanya didn’t make up for the weight disparity and weighed 15 pounds lighter than the Polish powerhouse did. This move backfired spectacularly as Blachowicz outclassed Adesanya on the ground. The first round was fairly even, but it all went down for ‘The Last Stylebender’ from thereon.

The judges awarded Blachowicz the unanimous decision win, which also included a few 10-8 rounds in between. It was total domination, but Adesanya wasn’t deterred. In his words, he dared to be great, and he would come back stronger. But after going on a three-fight win streak, he was about to face his second defeat at the hands of his long-time rival.

Alex Pereira defeats Israel Adesanya

Despite his loss to Blachowicz, ‘Stylebender’ maintained a 12-fight winning streak in his middleweight run until he faced the Brazilian ace, Alex Pereira, at UFC 281. It ruined the Kiwi fighter’s chance to equal the record of 13 consecutive wins, a record held by UFC 2023 Hall of Fame Inductee, Anderson Silva. It was the first time that ‘The Last Stylebender’ was finished in a fight (knockout or submission) in his entire MMA career so far.

Coming into the fight, Adesanya sported green trunks which represented his native land of Nigeria. He started the fight pretty well, staggering the Brazilian ace and almost finishing him at the end of the first round. But Pereira was saved by the bell. The second round was in favor of the Brazilian as he scored a takedown despite eating some hard leg kicks from Adesanya.

The third round saw the former champion score his first-ever takedown attempt in his entire MMA career, and maintain ground control, which saw him take the third round under his belt. By the time the fourth round started, ‘Poatan’ looked fatigued and worn out. This enabled Adesanya to land some significant strikes, and the Brazilian looked in trouble.

The fifth round was a do-or-die situation for ‘Poatan’ as he was instructed by his team in the corner to go for the kill. He was able to land some great shots, and his signature left hook made Adesanya stumble. Pereira kept going at ‘The Last Stylebender’ with some serious strikes before the referee intervened and handed him a TKO win.

Needless to say, this defeat devastated the New Zealander. But he bounced back in a rematch at UFC 287 and reclaimed his title as the MW champion, defeating Pereira with a KO by a counter right hook. Unfortunately, ‘Izzy’ wasn’t able to hold on to the championship belt for long.

Adesanya’s last two defeats against Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland

Israel Adesanya suffered his third loss against Sean Strickland at UFC 293, which was dubbed as one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Therein, ‘The Last Stylebender’ was all set to defend his championship belt for the first time during his second reign in the MW division. Despite trying his best, ‘Izzy’ was unable to dominate in the first round. But he didn’t fail to remind ‘Tarzan’ why he was the champion in the second round.

Fighting a close fight, the bout went on for 5 rounds with the rest 3 tilting in Strickland’s favor. All three judges declared Strickland as the new middleweight champion, with the scorecards reading 49-46 in ‘Tarzan’s favor. This marked the third and final loss in Adesanya’s professional career so far.

Now, ‘The Last Stylebender’ got another chance to fight for the championship title against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305. Although he put up a great fight, Israel Adesanya saw himself getting choked out for the first time in his MMA career by the South African native, who cemented his status as the middleweight champion.

The question that’s bugging every Israel Adesanya fan now is – will he be able to become the MW champ for a third time? Or is the upcoming fight going to be Adesanya’s 5th loss? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.